A student-implemented elective to improve medical student confidence in providing diabetes self-management support

Abstract

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to develop a preclerkship elective and assess its effectiveness in supplementing medical students’ education.MethodsA group of medical students under the guidance of two faculty advisors developed an elective consisting of six sessions covering a variety of practical aspects of diabetes care/education taught by an interprofessional team. Following the course completion, a survey was emailed to the enrollees who attended at least one session. The results were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank and descriptive analyses.ResultsA total of 14 medical students were enrolled (nine first year and five second year). An average of 4.4 sessions/student was attended. Thirteen students attended at least one session and were surveyed. The survey response rate was ~62% (8/13). All eight students indicated that the course was valuable and would recommend it to their colleagues. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed a statistically significant increase in students’ confidence in all five areas assessed following participation in the course, P<0.05 with a large effect (r>0.5).ConclusionThis study suggests the feasibility of developing disease state-specific preclerkship elective courses and that such courses can be beneficial in supplementing medical student education with practical knowledge.

A co-curricular diabetes-specific elective with interprofessional students and faculty

“…These results are similar to those seen in medical students who previously participated in this elective. 20 The one item that did not show a statistically significant increase was the students' confidence in talking with patients about diabetes. 20 This finding was inconsistent with previous findings in medical student surveys.…”

“…20 The one item that did not show a statistically significant increase was the students' confidence in talking with patients about diabetes. 20 This finding was inconsistent with previous findings in medical student surveys. It is noted that more pharmacy students reported to be highly or very highly confident in this area pre-participation in the elective when compared to the medical students surveyed previously, 7/10 (70%) versus 1/8 (0.13%) respectively.…”

“…19 Educational Activity and Setting Details of the steps taken in establishing this elective can be accessed in a previous publication. 20 In the second year of offering this elective, the DEPO CUP program coordinators worked with the associated College of Pharmacy to form a partnership in which pharmacy students in the 2 nd and 3 rd year of their professional education (P2 and P3) could also participate in the elective.…”

“…As was detailed in a previous publication, the topics covered within the Diabetes Enrichment Elective were put in place and remained consistent over the two-year history of this course, based on the curriculum suggested for successful DSMES by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) DSMES National Standards. 9,20 The topics suggested by Standard 6 of these standards included: education regarding healthy eating, medications, understanding the disease, being physically active, prevention, and blood glucose self-monitoring. As a result, the Diabetes Enrichment Elective consisted of seven one-hour sessions focused on the stated topics.…”

Impact of supplemental training programs on improving medical students&rsquo; confidence in providing diabetes self-management education and support

“…In a previous study by our group, the first- and second-year medical students’ confidence in specific areas related to providing DSMES significantly increased following participation in the preclerkship diabetes-specific optional course (Diabetes Enrichment Elective). 22 Our current study is to expand the previous study results by discussing qualitative effectiveness of various training modalities implemented including participation in a preclerkship optional elective in diabetes mellitus and/or in a 3-hour endocrinologist-led inpatient DSMES training with or without involvement in related inpatient volunteer activities on improving medical student confidence in providing DSMES to hospitalized patients with diabetes when compared to students who did not receive such training.…”